London Language

Chomsky on Twitter

 

 

Salon — why Chomsky is wrong about Twitter

Here's Nathan Jurgeson developing a bit more than the usual 'grumpy old Chomsky' argument based on his views on twitter

B--)

 

 

Chomsky at UCL

I was lucky enough to attend a talk by Noam Chomsky at UCL recently. It was very enjoyable. I agreed with his main points but I wouldn't adopt his question-handling techniques in class B--)

Project Nim

Finally saw Project Nim during the summer. It was fascinating but deeply traumatic. I thought I was already on the side of the apes after Rise but this was really shocking. I think it might be too disturbing to show to students, but we'll definitely talk about it in class this year.

One thing it demonstrated was how far linguists have come in understanding how to organise research and to consider the ethical aspects of what they do. I don't think there's any chance that this research project could have happened today, But, of course, it makes you wonder how crude current research practice will look in 30 years time or so.

Billy

Stephen Fry's Planet Word

Stephen Fry's Planet Word is a must-watch for anyone interested in language. He's in that difficult area, though, where he's almost guaranteed to annoy at least some language specialists with at least some aspects of the show. I think I'd vote it a hit just because he's obviously fascinated by language and is genuinely trying to communicate what's so fascinating about it. I'd love to hear comments from others on the programme. What do you think?

Billy